Unrequited

Giratina cast a sharpened glare over the trees of Sendoff Spring, a routine she had done since the beginning of her existence millennia ago. The shadowy morning sun gave her golden mask a dangerous gleam, one normally absent from her countenance whenever she graced the winding, howling depths of Turnback Cave, the catacombs where the souls of the deceased went to rest. This was her world, the territory over which she possessed full and complete governance.

Or as she liked to term it, her personal hell.

The basilisk was not one to express her true personal opinions to any other, to neither the mostly extravagant, easygoing Mew to the quiet, subdued Lugia. She wouldn't have given counsel to even Mewtwo, the perpetual outcast of the Hall of Origin. None of them would have cared, for one, and she didn't need anything marring her rough, abrasive attitude. It kept others at bay, and she quite enjoyed that.

That was not to say that she harbored ill will or hate for her brethren. Of course, she highly disapproved of any who attempted to initiate discourse or relations with her – Palkia was unfortunate enough to experience the physical consequences of such a venture – but generally she was fine with those who cared to keep their distance from her. However, there was one individual whose mere name caused her eyes to narrow in anger and heart to burn with rage.

Arceus.

Her hatred towards him was recent, if one could call two millennia ago recent. When the God had first birthed the creation trio at the beginning of time, she was curious to know as to why she was not granted a power of creation – after all, Dialga was tasked with governing the flow of time, and Palkia the development of space and dimensions. But she – the mere idea of what she was made the term 'creation trio' a misnomer in its own right – she controlled entropy, antimatter, dissonance. Giratina was the agent of dissolution and deconstruction, strikingly disconnected with her more aptly named 'creation' siblings.

This would have been tolerable if Arceus had not imprisoned her. Unlike Dialga and Palkia, who were free to roam the world as they pleased, she was restricted, retained, even jailed in the deathly chambers of Turnback Cave. Instead of presiding over the living and well, she was forced to work with the dead, the lifeless.

And why? Because Arceus claimed that her powers would diffuse the universe which Dialga and Palkia constructed. This led to the painfully obvious question of why she was birthed with her powers in the first place, but the qilin had stated on multiple occasions, "Balance," in such a blasé, uncaring tone that she swore that she could have killed God right then. She denounced him as a deity a supreme being, and showed up to the bimonthly meetings in the Hall of Origin simply out of obligation and desire to be up-to-date rather than anything else. The fact that Arceus lived there made her seethe, and on several occasions she had left because she felt she could not have restrained herself from launching herself at him.

But the question she posed this morning was not one that she had asked millennia ago, but rather a different variation of why. It carried only a hint of anger, entirely overwhelmed by the melancholy which simply did not exist in, but completely dominated her mind. This was also part of her routine – the daily wonderment of why her existence was even necessary, and why she didn't just off herself right then and there. She certainly had the means to do it; all Giratina needed to do was position herself right in the middle of a tribe of Garchomp and wait.

As she gazed bitterly at the sun crawling painfully over the treeline, the basilisk shook her head in discontent. It was so wrong, so hypocritical – the fact that Arceus had the gall to tell her that she had to be restricted here for the world's sake, while he could go bound and leap wherever he desired – it made her want to spit. He designed her cruelly as a polar opposite, if anything. He was God, she was the Devil; he was revered, she was cursed; he was happy, and, well, she was dissatisfied.

It was an interesting dilemma. Arceus got to deal with the good things in life, like Pokemon and humans coexisting peacefully, the growth of the world, and anything living, really.

And what did she get? Death, death, and more death. It was unfair and unjust, and despite the queries she brought forth numerous times, Arceus would never meet her truly on the matter, suggesting only that it was 'her position' or 'her duty' to be what she was.

He hadn't even considered if I wanted to be who I am, she reflected dourly for the thousandth time. She considered for a moment returning to the Hall of Origin and giving him a piece of her mind, but the catacombs called for her presence, not to mention that another outburst would not matter at all. Arceus never listened. He may have the facial expressions, the façade, and even questions instead of simple hm's and oh's, but she knew it was all a sham.

Giratina turned from the rocky crag which marked her 'brooding' spot towards the dark, pitch-black tunnel leading back to the depths of Turnback Cave. This was how it was for thousands and thousands of years, always critically watching the sunrise, turning heel, and diving straight into her job. It stayed the same, looping and repeating, never once changing.

It was thus to her immense surprise when she felt a body suddenly form behind her. The presence was so strong in aura that she didn't even need to turn around to see who it was.

"Arceus," she said, voice concealing any irritation or annoyance she felt at the moment.

The qilin simply bowed towards her ridged back. "Good morning, Giratina."

The dragon remained still, though fury began to build under her skin. "Arceus, what did you come here for? This is perhaps the first time in a hundred years that you've come to this godforsaken place."

He chuckled softly in response. "Godforsaken? If Turnback Cave were godforsaken, then why am I here?"

"Don't elevate yourself to that level, you laughable fool."

"Suit yourself," Arceus said, bemused expression still lingering. "But in fact, I am here because of the reason you provided. It has been exactly one hundred years since I last visited each legendary's dwelling, and now comes the time when I visit yours. I visited Alto Mare before here so that Latias' sunny attitude would rub off on me. I know how dark you may be at times."

Giratina let out a snort. "Har, har. Any other stupid jokes you'd like to regale me with? I'm slightly late to my job because I'm entertaining you, if you couldn't tell. Of course, what the hell would you know about that?" She snapped a ragged wing out in a subliminal attempt to deter Arceus from further proceeding.

Her opposite mouthed as to say something, but then brought his jaws shut with a small clack.

"Oh, no witty retort, huh?" Giratina walked into the mouth of the cave before glaring back at the silent Arceus. His mere presence was more than irritating the hell out of her. "Just hurry up and make your inspection."

He simply stood there, watching her movements silently. She eyed him suspiciously at first, and wondered if the qilin was attempting to confound her with another devious trick. When he still remained motionless, it then occurred to her that Arceus wasn't sure of how exactly to conduct a look-see.

She snorted in exasperation and shook her head. When it came to even the most mundane of affairs, she couldn't trust Arceus at all. "Since you haven't a damn clue as to how this cave system works, I guess I'll have to be your guide, lest our Creator becomes lost and forever doomed in the world of the afterlife. There'd be little love lost if that happened, though."

"Thank you, Giratina," he responded quietly, shrugging off her slight.

"Ooh, 'Thank you, Giratina.' Don't treat me as one of your cronies. You know I do this of no independent will."

As she stomped off, Arceus followed lightly, amusement displaced by a sense of concern. His emerald eyes narrowed at her back as he again attempted to deduce the complex nature of the being known as Giratina. The answer had eluded him for quite some time, but he wasn't overly surprised – the fact that his abilities laid only in creating, not controlling, the universe played an immense role in his creations' unpredictability.

"Normally," the basilisk's voice echoed through the caves, "the pattern of this cave is randomized if I am not present, meaning that you could get lost in here for all eternity. Maybe you'd figure out how I feel had I let you wander in there alone." She let out a short chortle, crimson eyes sweeping over the white-furred figure behind her as she looked back, and wondered how satisfied she would have been had she actually gone through on her plan.

Arceus let out a low sigh. "Giratina, if this is about what I believe it is, I hope you understand well the reasoning by which I made such a decision."

"Well, Arceus, it couldn't have possibly been-"

A loud, whining screech sounded through the tunnel, interrupting her speech. A phantom of a shadow flew out of one of the walls, red eyes glowing ominously at the two legendaries.

The qilin held a reserved face as Giratina gave the ghost a withering glare. "Quiet!" she said forcefully, spikes jutting out of her wings to warn the spirit of possible consequences.

It cowered, but did little more besides disappeared into another rugged, stone wall. "They really are getting uppity these days," she muttered to no one in particular, "especially with their righteous self-entitlement drivel. They think that they can do whatever the hell they want-"

"Impressive."

"Impressive what, Arceus?" She gave him a look that was no less severe than the one she gave the spirit.

He simply straightened up, much to Giratina's disappointment. "The power you command over your domain is quite impressive. With a single threat, you are able to cow them into performing your will. Very impressive indeed."

"What was that-"

"You know that I am no big fan of oppression," he returned tartly, eyes narrowed.

Giratina suppressed a growl, and instead got as close as she could to his face without causing any negative reaction. She could hardly believe he had the audacity to say that in such a superior, condescending tone, and she would have absolutely none of it.

"Alright then, God," she snarled, crimson eyes locking onto bright green. "How do you propose I keep this place nice and tidy so that none of the dead escape outside? You want me to sweet-talk them? How do you tell a dead individual that he can't see his loved ones when he believes that he can just wander outside and do so? You want to do this diplomatically? Why don't you try it for a moment and see just what kind of response you get? Of course, you'd figure it out in half the time if the individual you're talking to has fingers."

He gave no effective response other than a surprised blink. Arceus knew that she bore more than a grudge against him, but this was the first time she was bold enough to violate his personal space. "I apologize for my lack of foresight, Giratina," he said, refusing to break the dragon's stare.

She simply let out a grunt and turned around. "That's not all you have to apologize for, you massive hypocrite," she said bitterly as she continued down the tunnel. The dim light at the end gave her little respite; if anything, it only tired her more. The only thing that brought her solace – those ten minutes where the sun rose above Sendoff Spring – was robbed of her by some arrogant, uptight wanna-be God who demanded to be shown around her domain for no real, apparent purpose. Even worse was that he demonstrated a glaring lack of understanding of what it exactly was she did; perhaps if he had spent some time down here, he would be a little more reticent in his speech!

Bearing these thoughts, she stopped and sharply extended her wings. "All of this! You condemn me to it! Ever since the beginning of time, I have known nothing but Turnback Cave and the Distortion! Haven't you any sense of shame?"

The qilin's pace faltered as Giratina continued down the path. "I have attempted to explain this to you before – this is balance. Without evil, there can be no good. Without struggle, there can be no progress. And without death, there can be no-"

"Life?" she finished, voice dripping with acid. "You want me to understand the concept of life? What the hell do you think I know about life? Do you know what Turnback Cave is? A resting place for the dead. The dead, Arceus! And may whatever deity above you help me make me believe that I myself possess a life, because from what I do from day to day, I'm damn convinced that I don't!"

"That does not invalidate my point, Giratina. For this world to exist, there must be equilibrium and balance. For Kyogre, there is Groudon. For Dialga, there is Palkia. For Zekrom, there is Reshiram. And for me, there is you."

She sighed as they entered a massive cavern. She already knew how this would go – he would look at her living quarters, ask a few cliché, boring questions, and then have her lead him around more before leaving. Although Giratina didn't have an eidetic memory, thousands and thousands of years of repetition had drilled the basic concept into her mind fairly well. As for his statement….

"That would be fine and fair if their counterparts weren't restricted and shackled like I am," she said, pointing an accusatory wing at him. "When was the last time that Groudon couldn't leave his cave? When Palkia couldn't take a break? When Zekrom couldn't take Reshiram out? Face it, Arceus. Our relationship is much different – I am tortured and condemned, forced to live here and here only, but you roam free. The other counterparts have freedoms, but I don't. Do you see how foolish your argument of balance is?" She turned her gaze to a towering limestone pillar, top obscured by pitch-black darkness.

"Giratina, what is this room?" he asked suddenly.

The attempt at a topic change did not elude Giratina, but she decided to entertain it anyways. "You forgot already. How surprising. But in any case, this is where I rest and operate. It is the parallel to your Hall of Origin, one might say. Out of the entire cave, I know this room the best. And perhaps," she said far more quietly, "you are the only other who knows it as well."

"What?"

"Nothing, Arceus," she snapped, suddenly aware of how pathetic the aside made her appear. He, of all of the council, certainly did not need to find a chink in her armor. "Now answer the question. Your argument is foolish – yes or no?"

"What was the question again?"

The fact that he forgot their topic so easily mightily irritated her. "How is it even remotely fair that other counterparts are allowed to go free, but I am not?"

Giratina watched as the qilin tapped a hoof on the ground and gazed out into one of the tunnels leading to another part of the cave. "I cannot answer that question," he said.

"You cannot answer that question," she repeated incredulously.

His face hardened. "Correct."

She fumed at him, more than upset by the inadequate response. From the beginning of time, he had always proclaimed that all aspects of a question, whether philosophical or practical, must be addressed in full before being understood. It was his mantra for years, decades, centuries, millennia – and now he was suggesting that he had no particular answer for a very basic, especially one as tantamount as causing her eternal suffering? Something was most definitely afoot.

"Arceus," she said slowly, "You are going to tell me your answer, and you are going to tell me now. Do not treat me as a fool; do not try to lie, or else you will be far more of a hypocrite than you are right now. Would you be able to live with that?"

Success, she thought as an obviously pained expression graced Arceus' face. His eyes narrowed, his hooves tapped, and his entire body tensed as he obviously struggled to formulate a response.

"I…." The dragon looked up, surprised. It was the first time she had ever recalled Arceus' voice petering out like that.

"It is…." The qilin almost looked away out of distraction, continuing to stall his answer. She gazed at him dangerously, hiding an otherwise intense curiosity. But what Arceus would say next would permanently erase anything of the sort.

"Giratina, it is… not fair." His face fell as he lowered his head in humiliation.

She simply stood there and blinked. This was definitely not what she had expected – a 'yes' backed up with hundreds of convoluted reasons was far more Arceus' game. The sheer, unbiased, and frankly blunt truthfulness was so uncharacteristic of the qilin that it surprised her, It didn't make sense to her; it really didn't. This means that she was brought in this world as simply a tool, a being made to rot and suffer in the gutters of the world until hell froze over. She had an inkling of suspicion that it was his master plan, but him blatantly announcing it so was stunning in its own right.

Not to mention that it aroused such a fervent anger in her that she couldn't help but let out a low snarl, one so fierce that the God Pokemon actually backed up slightly.

"So," she growled, guttural laugh begin to grow in her throat. "It's not fair at all, you say. At the very beginning of the universe you created me and assigned me this task while knowing all this time that it was unjust and unfair of you to condemn me to this hellish task. And you had the nerve to wait until I actually asked you? Tell me, Arceus," she said, feet retracting in as she engaged her Origin Forme, "are you a coward, or just plain retarded?"

"Listen, Giratina-"

She laughed at his panicked expression. "Listen? You want me to listen to you? Who am I to listen to a false God? You may have created me, but you deserve no respect, no honor, no dignity. The only thing you're deserving of is shame and retribution!" Her mask began to glow a dim blue, angrily pulsing with the rhythm of her ragged breath.

Arceus attempted to approach Giratina. "Please, I just meant to-"

She dismissed him with the flap of her wings. "Enough excuses! You coward! You liar! Forget it!" The basilisk disappeared entirely into the air with a thin hiss, leaving behind a bewildered Arceus.

Of course, she hadn't really left the perimeter of the room. Giratina was simply biding her time, lurking, waiting to see when it was most opportune to strike her enemy with a Shadow Force. Yes, it was sacrilegious to attack God himself, but judging from what wrongs he had committed, she was more than justified. Besides, beating up the individual responsible for her undying pain and misery – even though it didn't quite make everything right – was more than enough motive for her to launch an attack.

She circled behind Arceus, who was turning his head left to right perplexedly. He was muttering something to himself, but Giratina could not hear exactly what it was; even if she did, she couldn't have cared less. There was only one thing which rested heavily on her mind.

Releasing a mighty roar, she reappeared right behind Arceus and barreled straight into him. Giratina was severely disappointed to see that his face had not fear etched upon it, but solemnity….

Which turned into surprised perplexity as she went straight through his furred skin and collided into the pillar in the center of the room. The shocked, indignant call of her name failed to rouse the serpent as much as her severely injured pride did. He was a normal-type, a damned normal-type! Arceus had surely seen the entire thing, which would have been more than satisfactory if she was successful. Instead, though, she had made an utter and complete pariah of herself, the opposite of what she wanted!

The adrenaline and anger flowing through her veins numbed the pain as she removed her face from the pedestal, a spider web cracks radiating from the point of collision. Giratina let out another deafening bellow as she whirled around. Her eyes locked onto the one responsible for her disgrace and his eventual death, and she charged as much power in her body as she closed in to tackle hi-

"Stop."

She was only inches from Arceus when some sudden, unbidden power arrested her entire body. The serpent struggled against the invisible presence, but she failed in doing anything but flailing like a Magikarp. It lowered her body so that her face was directly facing her victim's, and a nervous, uneasy feeling swiftly replaced the vitriol in Giratina's stomach. The defiant look never left her face, but underneath she was becoming… afraid? Fearful? It was an emotion that was certainly foreign to her; this much she knew.

"I must have forgotten to wear one of my plates today," he said simply, looking over himself. "It must have been the agent of luck on my side, and I would explore that if there did not happen to be more pressing… issues at hand right now."

She hissed, but attempted nothing more.

"Giratina," he asked softly, yet forcefully, "what is the meaning of this? An unsolicited attack due to an answer you do not like?"

She glared at him and tried to wrest her way out his psychic grip. "The meaning? The meaning? How thick are you? It's not just an answer I don't like; it's something that's controlled my existence for all of eternity! How can you say it's not fair, just like that? Dammit, Arceus, I know that you preside over so many lives and stuff, but did it not ever occur to you that those around you happen to have feelings? Emotio-" She swiftly cut her speech, nearly choking on her words. There was no way that she had just said that, absolutely no way! If she survived this ordeal at all, then she'd have to face the entire council on the matter, even though she didn't give a shit about what they thought about her.

Ain't that true, a cynical, snarky voice said in her mind.

The God chuckled, shaking his head from side to side softly. "Do you believe I am unaware of the presence of emotion, Giratina? For forever I have been puzzled and fascinated by the theory of emotion – on its face, it makes little sense at all, but even I have the capability of experience it from time to time, as do you, apparently."

"Let me rephrase that," she growled, scarlet eyes flashing darkly. "What I meant to say is, how can you be such an asshole when assigning duties but not taking into consideration how those who do them will feel? How'd you like living here for eternity? And how could you even do such a thing, doing something so unfair on one hand while claiming equality as necessary on the other? How the hell do you do it?"

Giratina stared straight into Arceus' eyes and saw that no small amount of uncertainty swirled behind those emerald pupils. "Spit it out," she said scathingly. "And let me go, while you're at it."

"Not until you calm down," he said, eliciting a scowl. "As for emotions… to be frank, that is a difficult question I had pondered for quite some time before creating you."

The glare never left her eyes, though a measure of curiosity slowly came crawling back. The conviction in Arceus' voice was so clear and astonishing that, offended and incensed as she was, Giratina had little choice but to consent to his truthfulness, albeit still wanting to know the reasoning behind it. "Do tell."

The qilin let out a low sigh before focusing his gaze. "Giratina, do you wonder why there are so few immortal creatures, despite the fact that I have the ability to render death nonexistent?"

"Overpopulation. Food scarcity. Anarchy. Loss of civilization."

"Correct in a way, yes, but not the inherent reason why I cast immortality so sparingly. What you have done is merely pinpointed some of the reasons I cited against creating much eternal life.

But life has a counterpart – that is, death. Even before I had created the legendaries I had contemplated this question, but it was only after when I came to a conclusion: granting all life immortality would be a foolish, unwise decision, both on the part of the world and of the individual cursed with such a fate."

Giratina picked up on the sour tone he spoke the last few words he had spoken, especially "cursed." Cursed with immortality, he meant. Then why were all of them immortal, if he believed it such a resigned destiny?

"You might be wondering why I phrased it that way," he said, causing her to blink in surprise, "due to the fact that those I have appointed to be my council possess such a trait. For this, I do happen to have reasons.

The world needs consistent leaders and consistent guardians. It is because of inconsistency that trouble and disaster occur; there needs to be a check to entropy and dissonance. For this to occur, immortality is necessary so that there exists a constant set of the same individuals presiding over the world."

He stopped to stare up at a phantom lingering in the air above them. As it darted away, he continued, "This immortality is normally taxing; as governor of Turnback Cave, Giratina, I can imagine the grieving you hear on a daily basis. The loss of loved ones, the inability to see them again, and so on." She nodded a wary assent.

"Immortality is but this, reversed. You come across someone you truly care for, only to see them evaporate while you persist. This cycle repeats, and repeats, until you become so disillusioned and cynical that a relationship is something that you avoid out of necessity. That is why there are so many counterparts on the legendary council – I recognized this flaw and attempted my best to fix it, though love is sometimes a fickle fiend." He laughed and flicked his tail.

It was easy for Giratina to see where this was going. She had her own personal thoughts on the matter, and they surprisingly aligned with Arceus' philosophy: that immortality was damaging in the end, and that only through a series of checks could it be delegated to a restricted minority, lest all of the social consequences replace the individual ones. What she was most interested in was what he would say next, having an inkling of a suspicion but dearly hoping that she was wrong.

"But now, with the decision to abstain from granting immortality, there must be a counter. Nature already happens to have one, which is death, but as there is an individual presiding over the living, there must be another one presiding over the dead." He bowed his head respectfully towards her.

"And that task falls upon me," the serpent finished, melancholy expression dominating her face. She was surprised to feel no rage building within her, but only deflated dejection. "Your balance must be kept, no matter what, so you created me in order to maintain equilibrium."

Arceus smiled slightly. "You are sharp, Giratina, very sharp; some recognize it and even fewer acknowledge it. You are indeed the last legendary I created for this purpose. If it is any consolation, it was a long and difficult debate."

Her depression quickly turned to irritation. She was feeling fine – if that was an accurate descriptor for an individual who founds her fate was to live in hell forever – until then, when he mentioned that his excuse was a 'consolation.' The phrasing stuck out to her as Arceus judging her as not truly alive being but instead something that was regrettably born out of wedlock, something to be absolutely ashamed of. One could talk about inanimate objects this way, but she was living and breathing, an animate legendary, not a tool!

"Arceus!" she barked, faint blue vapors forming at her jaw. The qilin turned his head towards her with eyes wide-open.

She nearly shook in absolute anger as her eyes slowly worked their way up to his. "That's what you call a 'consolation,' huh? Well, you can take your niceties and shove them up who-knows-where, because if that's supposed to make anyone feel better, you're delusional! Crazy! You can't even hide the fact that you regard me as an instrument, a device, nothing better than something to simply sit there and perform a single function in your perfect little life! Do you think it's righteous or fair to act like this, you self-centered, arrogant bastard? I'm trapped; you're free, and yet you talk to me like this? I'm sorry sir, but fuck you!"

This time when Arceus' jaw opened, he didn't bother to close it. His eyes glowed fiercely as he yelled, "Gi-ra-ti-na!"

"What is it, God? Did I hit a sensitive spot of yours?" she taunted back, knowing that she was virtually laughing in the face of death. "Sorry you're both arrogant and sensitive!"

Arceus' psychic bonds instantly vanishing, Giratina grunted as she fell onto the cold, clammy stone. She looked up to see the qilin towering over her, and had to admit that although she was far larger than him, seeing his legitimately angry face staring straight down at her sent chills running down her spine. The foreboding hardly left her when her counterpart's expression subsided to one of disappointment.

"Giratina, I would very much appreciate it if you did not use vulgarities within my, nor any others, presence," he said solemnly as she bared her teeth. "I am ashamed of you – first, for attempting to attack and obviously harm me, and now for this. What has gotten into you, Giratina?"

"One hundred years does a lot to someone, you know," she said almost maniacally. "And you're ashamed of me? Big words for a hypocrite."

Arceus smiled, though he faltered halfway when he met her smoldering gaze. "Hypocrite. I don't think you quite understand the meaning of the word."

She snarled as she pulled herself up off the ground, face resting before the qilin's. "What's not to get? You're free; I'm not, yet you champion fairness. Simple. Or is this another question where you intentionally avoid the answer again?"

"Giratina, I believe you misunderstand. I am shackled and bound as well, quite possibly even more so than you."

"I was surprised once before, Arceus," she said, shaking her head in defiance, "but not this time. You can't fool me with your lies." Though underneath she knew that it was actually she who was lying; he had revealed more to her in this morning than he had done since, well… ever, and she didn't want him to stop.

"Very well, then. A question, if I may posit one."

"Yes?"

"Have you ever considered just exactly what it is I do, Giratina?"

She rolled her eyes. "Why, yes, Arceus, I know what you do. You just call order and listen and say stuff and then relax for the rest of the da-"

As the serpent felt his eyes drilling into her, she immediately reconsidered what she said. She scoured her mind for a moment but found only figments; truth be told, the only time when she actually interacted with him was during council meetings in the Hall of Origin.

"Well? Do you?"

Giratina muttered and looked away, body heating up in embarrassment.

"Apparently not," he said. "Well, then, let me tell you what I do every day. I happen to wake up and watch the sunrise for about ten or fifteen minutes or so, one of the few breaks I get every day. Next after is getting caught up with what happened during my sleep – it is not terribly uncommon for there to have been several homicides within human society, a possible natural disaster, definitely more organized crime. In these I have little right to intervene; humans have their own sense of justice, and will hardly appreciate a higher being commanding their systems.

From this, I turn to the more… natural world, where Pokemon happen to believe that I exist. They often plea and pray, whether it be for the safe flight of a flock of Wingull or the swift rescue of explorers trapped in a cave. These requests are numerous and many, and even with all of the legendaries' assistance, only a small minority are fulfilled. The council take care of the latter, the more tangible prospects, because they have already established their true existence. I, on the other hand, have not, so I act as only an invisible overseer and monitor, donating strength and willpower. This I do for the entire day; sometimes, I circle the world multiple times.

However, I'm unable to complete all of this by nightfall, as you could imagine. So, tired and hardly content, I return to the Hall, where I make sure all is in order. Often, one of the legendaries comes in with a topic of discussion; usually, it is little, such as a case of unrequited love-" Giratina heard him cough oddly, faintly hearing "-Palkia-" through it.

"But other times it is something far more serious, perhaps a confession of using powers unwisely and accidentally maiming a few innocent individuals. I find it tremendously lucky that not one of them has managed to inadvertently destroy a large human or Pokemon settlement, but I count my blessings. I have to go to sleep every night with these thoughts on my mind, only to have everything repeat the next day.

Then, twice a month, I have to head the legendary meeting at the Hall of Origin, where I learn both pleasant and unpleasant news. Much of it borders on the latter, though; even after so much time living, not all of them have a full grasp of their power, resulting in even more needless casualties and disasters. I am particularly concerned about Zekrom and Mew and their immaturity, among others, though Kyogre and Groudon have always been uppity and the main cause of general gloom. I would know not what to do if Rayquaza did not assist me in quelling their feuds.

So have at me, Giratina. Do I really do nothing, bounding over meadows and fields and leaving a lovely rainbow behind? Even if I did, there would be no time to admire it. I believe that I do have much responsibility and little 'leisure,' as you would term it, without any hypocritical intent with simply living the dream others can't."

Now it was the serpent's turn to gape at her counterpart. Deep down inside, she knew that the qilin was busy, but she never fathomed that he would have been like… this. "Arceus, why, I… never knew…."

"You're the first," he responded somberly. "I have told this to no one before, for very apparent reasons. Who would want to know their leader is overworked and tired, disillusioned by his own job? They all see me as a father, someone to look to for advice as guidance. I have no right to break that image, unless I am forced to…." Arceus' emerald eyes fell to the floor.

Giratina, still resting on the ground, shook her head slowly. This shouldn't be right, couldn't be right. There was no way that she could actually feel… empathy for the individual who had damned her to the underworld and basically made her the twisted, demented, foul serpent she was, but there it was, vying against hatred for a place in her heart. Scandalous! she thought angrily. Traitorous!

"Well, do you see it now?" he asked, evidently waiting for Giratina to finish a train of thought. "You cite me as being free, but it is ironically the opposite. I am bound rigid by this agenda – day after day, I must meet the problems of the living, much like how you have to regulate the dead which wander this cavern. There is no end, no respite to my schedule, nor is there to yours. We are both prisoners; the only difference being that my scope is a bit wider."

"Yes, Arceus, but at least outside this cavern there's life! Forests, rivers, oceans! While you travel, you get to see the world function beautifully, while the only thing entertaining me is grey sheetrock," she said, hardly believing the words coming out of her mouth. She was trying to comfort him, for crying out loud!

He nodded. "I will admit that sometimes nature captures my attention and amazes me, but realistically, it is only a set of new problems waiting to further my workload."

As Giratina opened her mouth indignantly, he said, "I also foresaw this mindset happening to other legendaries, so I fashioned counterparts and gave them emotion so that they could keep each other as companions. But I realize now that I have neglected myself in the grand scheme of things. I haven't even the time to nurture a friendship, let alone a relationship. It's utterly hopeless, for even if I had the time and resources, the only legendary I truly admire hates me with the fire of a thousand suns." He looked up at her, saw the conflicted expression, and smiled bitterly.

"Congratulations, Giratina. You have finally found someone who empathizes with you."

That last statement hardly reached her thoughts, though. Floating only inches above the ground, she was in a state of utter shock, not just because of Arceus' secrets but also due to an uncertain reevaluation of herself. For all of this time she knew the qilin, she held nothing but an unrepentant, undying abhorrence towards him and the way he carried himself. But here he was, revealing that he was identical to her in almost every single way.

The worst part of it? She had made every effort to libel and slander him, and even went as far as attacking the only individual who could possibly understand her.

Giratina wanted to disprove it with every cell in her body, yet she could not deny the utter truth of the matter. It was confusing, crazy, and through the mental din, she swore she felt a bit of… was that moisture in her eyes? The serpent shook her head fiercely and blinked it away, almost certain that it was just a figment of her imagination, and nothing more. There was no way in hell that she would feel anything for Arceus, of all of the legendaries. Why she would even regard him with anything but a rabid hatred eluded her, but her reaction defied her thoughts.

"Well, this inspection has certainly been informative," Arceus said emotionlessly, analytical posture returning quickly to him. He stood up in the chamber and looked around once more. "Next is Azelf, who I trust is as meticulous as usual… so I must head to Valor posthaste. Good bye, Giratina. I trust that I will find Turnback Cave in such a similar state upon my return."

As the qilin turned to leave, she managed to edge out a quick, "Wait!" She rose off the ground, almost falling as she held her position unsteadily.

Arceus didn't turn around to meet her eye to eye. "Yes, Giratina?"

"Arceus, I…." She had planned to say something, but what to say eluded her tongue, and she simply floated there working her jaw. "I just wanted to say…."

"You know that I am on a tight schedule. Please submit any post-evaluation remarks to me at the next meeting. That happens to be tomorrow, if you have forgotten. Good day." And with that, he disappeared into the tunnel linking her room to the outside world.

Giratina sunk back down to the ground as she watched the snow-white figure recede from her vision. A mixture of emotions churned beneath her solid, unwavering countenance – anger, pain, confusion, sadness, melancholy, depression all staked out distinct domains in her mind and held their keep. However, one specific feeling predominated, rising above the haze and hitting her so hard that she almost choked in desperation.

Loneliness.

It was very curious, for she had felt many emotions this morning she scarcely felt. Fear and regret she may have felt once in a blue moon, but loneliness?

After a brief struggle to recall how many times she had actually felt this way, Giratina surmised that she had been host to the feeling not even once in her existence. This was more than likely due to the fact that she hadn't found a single being, mortal or immortal, who could really truly understand her and her complaints and plight. Convinced by this, she shunted all thoughts of companionship out of her head and did what the humans called, 'dealing with it,' working her mundane and torturously boring job for eternity, interacting with peers only when forced to.

But now loneliness came back and attacked her with a ferocious vengeance, as if to ask her why she had suppressed it for so long. It was so damn ironic – the individual who understood her the best, the one who could empathize with her in every way, shape, and form – was her most bitterly hated enemy, the one she attempted to sever absolutely all contact with. And then she had the nerve to show such disrespect towards him whenever he came?

"It's not fair!" she shouted out to no one in particular. The voice echoed off the gigantic caverns, as if a thousand souls were agreeing with her in unison. She hated every part of herself for what she had done. She had gone far out of line by calling him a hypocrite. She had violated every possible rule in the book by attempting to inflict harm on God himself. She had directly insulted the deity with an incredibly forceful, hate-filled vulgarity.

Then he just had to go and prove her completely wrong. It turned out that he was more industrious, more tortured, more accepting than her, the traits of which she accused him of utterly lacking. Never once had she heard him pine of any such supposed trivialities, nor of the nonsense he suggested of not having a relationship or friend of some sort. Then, before she could even muster an apology or at least redact her statements, he had left her.

Alone.

For thousands of years, she had alienated the only one who had, now that she saw it, actually cared for her existence. She had consistently removed from her presence the only one showing the slightest interested in her, even though she had subconsciously longed for such recognition.

The mere thought made her want to commit suicide.

But the serpent could do nothing as she laid on the ground, physically and emotionally drained. She watched as the ghosts above moved about, faint shadows tracking on the dimly lit ground before her. They were whispering, she noticed, probably about her and the very recent events. Normally, she would have risen and shouted at them to shut up, but this time, she simply slapped her tail on the ground lethargically, without an ounce of life.

Perhaps she would take a break for once. She didn't know what unearthly consequences shirking duty for a day would produce, but quite frankly, she couldn't care less. There was only one thing her mind was focused on, anyways.

Arceus.

The tweeting of Pidgey and Starly far below the Hall of Origin roused the qilin from his sleep. He groaned and opened his eyes, stretching his entire body to get rid of those chronic muscle pains. Arceus' stomach ached tremendously; the previous day, a zealous trainer who had spotted the God on accident loosed an Aerodactyl on him. He had taken several blows to the underbelly before injuring the Pokemon long enough to make a quick escape. His conscious nagged at him for that, but his rationale judged that he would be a far more effective God if he was roaming free, as opposed to being crammed in a Pokeball.

He walked out of his personal chambers into the long, elegant discussion halls. The one thing he loved about the Hall of Origin was its spectacular view over the east. There, he could stand at the edge of the platform and watch the sun slowly crawl over the mountains, heralding a new day, new opportunities, and new life. It was truly an awe-inspiring view, even for a deity like him.

That was before the realistic side kicked in.

Mourning such a depressing end, he slowly paced towards the end of the hall. Slowly blinking his dreary, sleep-addled eyes, he looked up for a moment before widening them in surprise. A dark figure, long silhouette cast along the hall's crystal floor by sunlight, floated silently where he would normally watch the sunrise every morning.

"Giratina?" he asked, approaching the serpent warily. His hooves clacked deafeningly on the glass tiles of the silent room as he edged closer and closer.

The dragon gave him hardly any notice, ruby eyes simply sliding over to view the qilin better. "Good morning, Arceus."

He was perplexed at her appearance, and rightfully so. She never left her cavern except when mandatory. "What are you doing here, Giratina? This is the first time in… my life that I've seen you here."

"Enjoying the sunrise. Is it such a crime?"

"But here?"

She turned her head slightly towards him, rays of light glinting off her golden mask. "Do you object to my presence?"

"No," the qilin responded, suddenly feeling a bit embarrassed for asking such an invasive question. He said nothing else as he walked to Giratina's side and sat down on his haunches, sneaking a glance at her every now and then.

"Arceus?"

He widened his eyes in surprised and almost stumbled back, realizing that he had actually been staring at her. "Yes, Giratina?" he asked, somehow able to keep the rest of himself calm and composed.

She didn't seem to mind, instead returning to face the rising sun. "I've been thinking… mostly about what had occurred yesterday."

His face darkened.

"Arceus, I… I owe you an apology," she started, not making eye contact with him. "Multiple times yesterday, I overstepped my boundaries. Attacking and cursing at the one I'm supposed to be accommodating probably isn't very kind."

The qilin now frowned in confusion. He couldn't possibly remember the last time that the unsocial, introverted Giratina actually apologized for something, much less explained the reason why. If anything, she expected her to fly up and attack him right in front of the legendary council at the meeting later that day. But his thoughts dispersed as he gave the serpent his full attention, noticing that her eyes looked hesitant and uncertain.

"You probably know how damn tough it is for me to be saying this, and you're right as hell," she said, swerving her head to face him directly. "When I look at you, I still feel angry, upset, wanting to just hit you right then and there. It was most certainly wrong of you to create me just for the sole purpose of bringing order to this world, and even more so for assigning me an awful task that no one, dead or alive, could possibly enjoy. It is treasonous and sadistic of you to have done that to me, making it almost seem as if you wanted to torture me."

Arceus knew that he should have been incredibly insulted at her remarks, true as they were, but the only thing he could feel was a rapidly growing interest. "Giratina…" he began, unsure of how to confront her.

"Well, it would've been so if I didn't learn how you lived your life day to day. Whatever hate I felt for you was probably based on how I first viewed you – simplistic, uncaring, indifferent – and that is still the reason why I still hate you, stupidly irrational as it is. But you know what it's like to live a life like mine, which was really, really surprising. And I felt something for you that I never believed I could ever feel…."

"What?" the qilin asked, heartbeat picking up a few paces. If she said what he thought she'd say, then the world had definitely gone mad.

"Respect."

Oh. Arceus' face fell as he looked away, feeling a bit humiliated even though he knew he shouldn't be. It was all based on false expectations, anyways.

Giratina's eyes showed a rare twinkle of amusement. "I know you were expecting something else, and I'm sorry to disappoint. But Arceus, even though I hate you and wish that you hadn't even created me, you're one of the few on this planet who I can actually respect, and I do admire you for that quality. So, based on this…."

"This…?" Arceus looked into her expectant eyes, and wondered just exactly what is was that she was going to ask him. Well, that was already ruled out, and she expressed her decision to let him live, so what was left?

"I can't believe I'm asking this, but Arceus… can we…."

"Can we be friends?"

Friends. The qilin blinked as the word rang loudly in his head. An apology, yes, but a request of friendship? Besides the incredible awkwardness of the question, it struck him as so incredibly abnormal, strange, and irregular of her that he couldn't help but let out a chuckle.

"Arceus?" she asked warily as the God laughed loudly, uncertainty and an uncharacteristic amount of hurt flashing in her eyes.

"Haha, Giratina, I'm sorry, I really am. It is just so unlike you to ask…."

"This entire morning has been unlike me."

"That is true," he admitted, grin slowly leaving his face. "And Giratina… you know my loneliness, the absence of anyone in my life. You're the only one who I've completely told my responsibilities and duties, and I'm certain that you're also the only one who would understand them. And even though you hate me… I don't, but I can still accept that fact. So Giratina, yes," Arceus said with an emphatic nod, "I would be honored to be your friend."

For the first time since he had known her, Giratina's eyes lit up in absolute delight and happiness. "Arceus, I… again, I'm sorry, for all that I've said, and-"

"It's fine, it's fine. I forgive you, Giratina. Isn't that what friends are supposed to do?"

And nothing more passed between the Gods of life and death as they sat together, taking in the rising sun with pure content in their hearts.

A/N: So, it's been a fair amount of time since I have written something, so I decided to pick a rather unfamiliar subject to me: interpersonal relations. I am not that much of an expert on conveying feelings and whatnot, but I guess this was one of my better practice pieces. It's still much of a challenge, due to a) I can't read emotions, and b) I suck at conveying emotions, but I think I've done a somewhat decent job with this one considering that this is my first foray into legendshipping and relationship-focused material.

So, thanks for reading, and if you want, drop me a review! And for those currently reading First Contact, I apologize for the lack of an update in a long time, but bear with me; life's giving me a pretty hard time right now, but after that second week of May I am forever liberated... until college starts.